. They are truly...
September 3rd, 2009
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U.S. cats have reached monumental proportions with 57% being overweight or obese. Most people don’t see fat cats as a problem and they are thought of as “cute and cuddly,” but health risks of obesity are real and life threatening.
Obesity is the leading cause of preventable illness and death from conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, heart and lung disease. Cats need to be helped out of the “couch-potato-overeating”" lifestyle we have created for them! Your vet can identify your cat’s ideal body weight and help you begin a plan of calorie restriction to reach that weight. Add 20 minutes of exercise a day using interactive cat toys and laser pointers. Monitor your cats weight loss progress every 2-4 weeks with your vet. You will need to make frequent adjustments to keep your cat on the right track to a healthy weight. Dr. Spector is a veterinarian, nutritional advisor & pet lover! For more information about pet health, visit us online at www.vcapets.com. |
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We have 2 cats. One is overweight and the other is lean and muscular. How do we slim the overweight cat down without denying the other cat the proper amount of food? They have their own bowls but eat side by side. I think chubby Charlie is eating some of Ben’s food but it is hard to monitor. Charlie gets exercise every night with the laser pointer and he plays with Ben as well.
It’s unfortunate that nothing was mentioned about dry food being so high in carbohydrate that is creates a lot of the obesity in cats. Cats derive their energy needs mainly from protein and fat, and little from carbohydrate. All this excess carbohydrate will be stored as fat. Now of course, cats have individual differences in metabolism, body type etc and will be effected differently. But the scientific fact is all this excess processed carbohydrate is stored as fat, and is not good for carnivores. Obesity is but one of many ailments from a species inappropriate diet.
Having an overweight pet is awful. My cat Gaijin was fat, and now she’s back to a good weight, but my dog Geppetto always struggles. I just keep him hungry. But I know he’s healthy this way. I wrote a cute story about Geppetto’s weight here: http://www.thedailytail.com/?p=738
Daniela Caride
My Flower kitty is about a pound overweight. I try to play with her but my cat littlebit has to see what’s mgoing on then Flower gets mad and quits playing. She is ten and I noticed that she is starting to slow down. But I think when she is in her playful mood I’ll lock everyone in the bedroom so it’s just me and her. I would really like for her to lose about two lbs. to be on the safe side. Anywayshe is my little missy, she weighs 15 pounds. She is a big bone cat, just like Bambi. He’s up to 13.5. He’s my special buddy.